History of Aikido
Aikido - The History of Aikido.
Founder: Morihei Ueshiba
Aikido's founder, Morihei Ueshiba, was born in Japan on December 14, 1883. As a boy, he often saw local thugs beat up his father for political reasons. And this troubled him deeply.
Therefore he set out to make himself strong so that he could take revenge on these men. Hence he devoted himself to hard physical conditioning and eventually to the practice of martial arts.
Thereby receiving certificates of mastery in several styles of jujitsu, fencing, and spear fighting.
And in spite of his impressive physical and martial capabilities, however, he felt very dissatisfied. Morihei Ueshiba began delving into religions in hopes of finding a deeper significance to life.
All the while continuing to pursue his studies of budo, or the martial arts. Most of all by combining his martial training with his religious and political ideologies, he created the modern martial art of Aikido.
Ueshiba decided on the name "Aikido" in 1942 (before that he called his martial art "Aikibudo" and "Aikinomichi").
Importantly on the technical side, Aikido is rooted in several styles of jujitsu (from which modern judo is also derived), in particular Daitō-ryū Aiki-jūjutsu, as well as sword and spear fighting arts.
History of Aikido
The History of Aikido is a fascinating subject. And oversimplifying somewhat, we may say that Aikido takes the joint locks and throws from jujitsu and combines them with the body movements of sword and spear fighting. Most of all, we must also realize that many Aikido techniques are the result of Master Ueshiba's own innovation.
And importantly on the religious side, Ueshiba was a devotee of one of Japan's so-called "new religions," Omotokyo. Omotokyo was (and is) part Shintoism, and part socio-political idealism. One goal of Omotokyo has been the unification of all humanity in a single "heavenly kingdom on earth."
A place where all religions would be united under the banner of Omotokyo. It is impossible sufficiently to understand many of O-sensei's writings and sayings without keeping the influence of Omotokyo firmly in mind.
Most of all despite what many people think or claim, there is no unified philosophy of Aikido. What there is, instead, is a disorganized and only partially coherent collection of religious, ethical, and metaphysical beliefs. All of which are only more or less shared by aikidoists. And which are either transmitted by word of mouth or found in scattered publications about Aikido.
History of Aikido - Some examples:
1) "Aikido is not a way to fight with or defeat enemies; it is a way to reconcile the world and make all human beings one family."
2) "The essence of Aikido is the cultivation of ki [a vital force, internal power, mental/spiritual energy]."
3) "The secret of Aikido is to become one with the universe."
4) "Aikido is primarily a way to achieve physical and psychological self-mastery."
5) "The body is the concrete unification of the physical and spiritual created by the universe."
At the core of almost all philosophical interpretations of Aikido, however, we may identify at least two fundamental threads:
- A commitment to peaceful resolution of conflict whenever possible.
- A commitment to self-improvement through Aikido training.
History of Aikido Demonstrations
Fortunately there is much footage of Morihei Ueshiba and his art of Aikido available. Below is a video with Morihei Ueshiba in demonstration.
And sadly today there is much division in Aikido and it has fragmented into 2 main groups. One group focuses on O'Sensei's early teaching, the other his later teaching. It would be wonderful if these groups could put their egos aside and truly honour this great man with unity.
O' Sensei [Great Teacher] as he was called by his students was a man of peace. But because much of the history in martial arts is not correct it is important to know HOW he was a man of peace. Importantly the reason is he knew great violence in his younger days. Today most martial artists have no clue what true violence is as this man did.
History of Aikido - Morihei Ueshiba - Art of Peace
Below is an audiobook written by Morihei Ueshiba called the Art of Peace. This gives a very good look into the mind of this great martial artists of the 20th Century.
The History of Aikido will be expanded over time. Therefore if this history is on interest too you check back often. Outside links to other arts will be replaced by new links as the history of other arts are explored.